INSIGHT
THE IMPORTANCE OF INFLUENCE
The use of influencer marketing has grown rapidly over the past decade, but new Committee of Advertising Practice guidelines regarding the transparency of affiliate marketing could prove a stumbling block going forward, says Marie Clements of Digital Fuel Marketing.
INFLUENCER MARKETING IS by no means a new concept. It can be traced all the way back to the 1800s, when companies realised celebrity endorsements increased their sales, and over time the role and power of that influence has changed and diversified. And while the role of influence has evolved over time, particularly in the last decade, our approach as marketers has too, with the need to understand different types of influence and how to create effective and converting campaigns.
One of the key developments in marketing and advertising is that consumers are more conscious of and impervious to the effects of advertising, with a general mistrust of paid ads as they are very aware of the financial motivation behind them. However, when it comes to an individual recommendation, even from a stranger, consumers are much more trusting, and so brands have been investing more time and resources into working with individual influencers. Investment in influencer marketing is about more than building brand awareness, it’ s a way of validating your product to consumers using someone they have trust in.
Defining influence How do we define who is an influencer? There are some essential qualities for an individual to be considered an influencer. First, there is their reach— fundamentally, influencers need an audience to be able to convey messages and distribute content to. Second, their own content and aesthetic also needs to be relevant and fit with the brand they’ re promoting; the connection between the influencer and the brand or common topics will determine how effective their results will be with their own audience. Finally, having enough of an influence to inspire a group of people and affect their buyer behaviour is key.
All influencers will have a hybrid of the above qualities. An influencer with a large reach may not be able to influence their audience’ s behaviour as much as an influencer with less reach, but a very engaged audience who trust the influencer and will base their decisions on their opinion. Below is a tiered system based on the idea of ranking affiliates on their reach and engagement.
Mega Reach: 1 million + Engagement up to 5 % Celebrity and super social influencers are brilliant as brand ambassadors and are likely to produce great results for impressions with an unparalleled reach. Although they are not the best for converting or ROI, the brand awareness and association is an entirely different story.
Macro Reach: 10,000 + Engagement up to 25 % Value-added influencers including journalists, bloggers and specialists will likely prove to be most successful in terms of their relevance as their audience is likely to be engaged by a shared interest and the value of their expert opinion. This is particularly relevant in gambling and sports.
Micro Reach: 500 + Engagement: up to 50 % Social influencers are a modern take on the classic marketing tool word of mouth. An audience will value their opinion and make decisions based on the influencer’ s personal experience with a brand. These influencers are key for building relationships and as they grow, so can your rapport. The influencers themselves are likely to personally engage in conversation with their audience via social media / blogs, take care of their audience and respond better to brands showing a personal interest in them.
Influencers in the affiliate channel Influencers have been working in the affiliate channel for years, especially during the mid-noughties when blogging, vlogging and social media gave a new platform for anyone to have a voice.
Working with influencers in our industry has historically been based on a final click model, meaning influencers signed up to an affiliate programme are only rewarded if they are awarded the final click in the user journey, whereas research shows us that influencers play a significant role in the research phase, rather than the tail end of a transaction. In other industries, it is no surprise that attribution models soon recognised the influence of these affiliates,
iGB Affiliate Issue 62 APR / MAY 2017
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